National Day of Volunteering

September 17 2010

The Annual National Day of Volunteering is on Friday, October 1st and once again Trinity is playing its part. The event aims to encourage people to donate their time and skills for a few hours and concentrates on hands on involvement in the community.

To kick off, we are going to team up with students of Larkin College on Cathal Brugha Street to weed, plant and liven up a grassy patch near their all weather pitch. TCD staff and student volunteers are needed for about two and a half hours on either the morning or the afternoon of October 1st to muck in.

We know that not everyone can make it on a "school day", so to give everyone an opportunity and further to the work we did last year, we are returning to Odin's Wood Centre for Older People in Finglas to powerhose, weed and clean up their garden on Saturday October 2nd from 11am to 4pm.

Finally, just in case gardening isn't your cup of tea, we are teaming up with the Junior Chamber in Dublin for a Painting Party on Sunday October 10th from 11am to 2pm. We'll be brightening up Dublin Youth Theatre on Gardiner Street with a lick of paint.

These outreach activities are all about giving you a small taste of volunteering through a once-off local project. There is no obligation to commit to anything beyond that but you just might discover a real passion for volunteering and decide to get involved further- either way, it's totally up to you. This is a brilliant way to get to know new people, learn a bit about the community and have some fun while getting practical work done for charities and community organisations in need. It's a win-win situation.

If you would be interested to volunteer for any of the above projects, drop an email to Róisín on mcgrogar@tcd.ie. Any help would be appreciated!